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The Cross of Christ

by Pastor Paul M. Sadler

Perhaps you are reading these lines but do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We want you to know that life begins at Calvary! To illustrate consider for a moment the vertical beam of the Cross. It represents the way through which the broken relationship between God and the sinner can be restored. The way is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Savior Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

In your heart of hearts you know that you are not right with God. Sin has separated you from the Holy One of Heaven and has made a mess of your life! It’s left you living in fear of death and the judgment to come. I know, I’ve been there! Salvation is not found in what you can do to make yourself acceptable to God, but what He has already done for you at Calvary.

The only way to restore your broken relationship with God is to believe that Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (I Cor. 15:3,4). As the song says, “When He was on the Cross, you were on His mind.” The moment you place your faith in Christ’s finished work, you will be forgiven of all your sins: past, present, and future. Keep in mind, too, that the day Christ died all of your sins were yet future.

Nothing in this life is free, someone paid for it! This is also true of God’s provision of salvation; Christ paid for it with His precious blood. Today, God is offering salvation as a free gift to all who place their trust in His Son. When you believe the gospel, the burden of your sins will be lifted. You will for the first time in your life experience “peace with God” through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). Once this relationship is established, it is permanent because you are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the redemption of the purchased possession (Eph. 1:13,14).

We might liken the horizontal beam of the Cross to our relationship with those around us. Our lives touch the lives of others. God has believers in every walk of life so that those who are still outside of Christ might have the opportunity to hear the good news. This horizontal beam also represents the importance of reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Christ who have yet to see the revelation of the Mystery (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:8,9), which raises an important question: when was the last time you shared Paul’s gospel with a Christian friend?

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

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